The Good
Spies
An Ultramobile Journey
Across the Middle East
Barry Friedman. Jesse Gilbert. 100 cafés. Electric wheels, open questions, and no guaranteed welcome.
Meet the missionHospitality. Hostility.
Or a border they can't cross?
Two Israeli citizens walk into a café. What happens next?
Barry Friedman and Jesse Gilbert are planning to explore the Middle East in WOWLS! electric buggies and on next-generation electric motorcycles, with a goal of visiting 100 cafés.
Their proposed route reaches toward the Sinai, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Will the people they meet welcome them with the region's legendary hospitality — or greet them with suspicion and hostility? Will officials let them through, or turn them back before the adventure begins?
And back home: what will mainstream Israelis make of it all? A bridge between people? An impossible idea? Something worth watching unfold?
No prewritten answers. No guaranteed itinerary. The planning, the doubts, the encounters — and the possibility of being stopped — are part of the story.
The project uses “Greater Israel” as its proposed geographic framing, not a statement of recognized borders. All travel is subject to lawful entry, permits and safety advice; no border access is confirmed. The poster is concept artwork, not footage of a completed journey. WOWLS! is a proposed vehicle choice; no sponsorship is implied.
Before the road,
there's the conversation.
Approximately 50 episodes, starting with our planning video podcasts.
Watch Barry and Jesse work through the whole process: the route, electric vehicles, charging, the budget, border questions, and how to turn a bold idea into a documentary. The decisions are part of the adventure.
Talk it through
Planning podcasts and approved notes from our Google Meet conversations.
Test the idea
Vehicles, logistics, permissions, costs, and the questions we still need to answer.
Follow what happens
If safe and lawful travel becomes possible, the encounters — and setbacks — shape the story.
Watch. Read. Follow along.
First up: the planning conversations.
We're in development. No episodes have been published here yet. The first video podcasts will start with how we plan to make this happen.
From the planning table
Approved notes from Barry and Jesse's Google Meet talks will appear here alongside the recordings.
The first episode
starts before departure.
We're working at the speed of superintelligence — using AI to accelerate the planning while keeping the human questions at the center. Stay tuned as this exciting project develops.